The invention relates to the treatment of neoplastic disorders such as cancer.
Cancer is a disease marked by the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells. The abnormal cells may no longer do the work of normal cells, and they crowd out and destroy healthy tissue.
Lung cancer is the most common cancer-related cause of death among men and women. It is the second most commonly occurring cancer among men and women; it has been estimated that there will be more than 164,000 new cases of lung cancer in the U.S. in the year 2000 alone. While the rate of lung cancer cases is declining among men in the U.S., it continues to increase among women. Lung cancer can be lethal; according to the American Lung Association, an estimated 156,900 Americans are expected to die due to lung cancer in 2000.
Cancers that begin in the lungs are divided into two major types, non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer, depending on how the cells appear under a microscope. Non-small cell lung cancer (squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and large cell carcinoma) generally spreads to other organs more slowly than does small cell lung cancer. Small cell lung cancer is the less common type, accounting for about 20% of all lung cancer.
Other cancers include brain cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer, gastric cancer, kidney cancer, leukemia, liver cancer, lymphoma, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, rectal cancer, sarcoma, skin cancer, testicular cancer, and uterine cancer. These cancers, like lung cancer, are sometimes treated with chemotherapy.
Chemotherapeutic drugs currently in use or in clinical trials include paclitaxel, docetaxel, tamoxifen, vinorelbine, gemcitabine, cisplatin, etoposide, topotecan, irinotecan, anastrozole, rituximab, trastuzumab, fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, gentuzumab, carboplatin, interferon, and doxorubicin. The most commonly used anticancer agent is paclitaxel, which is used alone or in combination with other chemotherapy drugs such as: 5-FU, doxorubicin, vinorelbine, cytoxan, and cisplatin.